Winter Harbor & Pemaquid Races

Surf’s up with several big boats in a tight race on a great day at Winter Harbor. Fishermen’s Voice photo.

The Winter Harbor races attracted a lot of racers again this year. The weather was great, which made the long day of racing easier on spectators at least. There were good races, with competitors closely matched at the finish line. The big race of the day was large in the number of boats racing and the generosity of the fishing community. Thirty Winter Harbor boats in a line up of 40 raced in a fundraiser for Winter Harbor Coop manager Randy Johnson. He was hit hard by medical problems and the cost of treatment for throat cancer. Each Winter Harbor boat in the race donated $200.

Captain Andy Johnson and a guest aboard his rafted up Whistling Dixie at Pemaquid. Fishermen’s Voice photo.

Winter Harbor was again the Las Vegas of race venues. There were 96 boats that raced there this year and $35,000 in prizes.

The Merritt Brackett Lobster Boat race plans at Pemaquid played cat and mouse with intermittent rain. Just before start time it stopped raining long enough for 21 races, but no longer. One of the high points of the day occurred early when Stevie Johnson of Johnson’s Boatyard on Long Island raced Jonesport’s Shawn Alley’s Little Girl. Jonesport has long been a boat-building town and some of the earliest and fastest power boats came out of its boat shops. Johnson was running a 638 Chevy with a 21X23 wheel with a cup. Alley’s 1981 wooden Calvin Beal runs a 598 Ford and a 20X23 wheel with a medium cup.

Alley leapt off the starting line gaining a 150'+ lead over Johnson. Viewed from some distance back, the whole length of the course could be seen. At about a quarter of the length up the course Johnson’s boat let out a screaming high-pitched roar and launched into a most amazing increase in speed. It seemed to be increasing speed right to the finish line. Johnson shot past Alley’s Little Girl, the “fastest boat in Maine” some were saying, in the last third of the course with little more than the prop and skeg in the water. He crossed the finish line at 58.1 MPH.

The Audrey Aileen being passed by Whistling Dixie in the 801HP, 40' and over class race. Fishermen’s Voice photo.

Johnson returned to his rafted-up boat mates and friends to hoots and hollers. He had put together the boat and engine he raced at the last minute when the parts for the engine he wanted to race could not be delivered on time. Johnson is known, and maybe notorious, for putting together fast boats. Not just fast boats, but boats which in some cases no matter how many haulers were hung off them would not qualify as lobster boats. But qualifying at the finish line was something else. One example, the full-size car rigged with three refrigerator-sized outboard motors. Johnson takes the most inventive class as his boats are being launched.

All’s well in Winter Harbor. Fishermen’s Voice photo.

Steve’s good and longtime friend Andy Johnson was rafted up with the two boats Stevie brought and a few other boats there to race. Andy’s Whistling Dixie, a Holland 40, would run a good race that day. But not before Andy got his boat set up, with the help of his crew, for grilling stacks of steaks, buckets of baked stuffed lobster, sausages, shrimp salads and more for those on his boat and adjoining boats. At one point there was so much steak being passed around it looked like an Omaha Steak conference.

Matt Johnson about to reboard Whistling Dixie after diving under Motivation to cut away rope wrapped around it’s shaft. Fishermen’s Voice photo.

Whistling Dixie ran in the diesel 801 HP and over, 40' and over class. Andy had eight people onboard stand as far aft as possible to keep the prop in the water. Three boats ran in that race. Whistling Dixie took the lead early. Not long after taking the lead the 801 HP and about 200 HP over was poured on to rocket Whistling Dixie down the course to finish.

At one point Tom Clemons brought his Northern Bay 36, Motivation, alongside Whistling Dixie’s open stern. Tom thought his prop had picked up some rope during his last race. One of Andy’s crew, Matt Johnson, offered to dive under Motivation to check it out and cut the rope from around the shaft. A few fathoms of it, turns out.